June 19, 2008

*If you would like a collection of 30 devotions written by Kerry, Steven Curtis Chapman, and others, you can order “Seeds of Change” from Shaohannah’s Hope at cost. Perfect for group study. Order here >

Comments

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Kerry,
Wow...the depth of your insight into the heart of the Lord concerning orphans truly opened my eyes. As a mother of three adopted Chinese children, I have much to think and pray about.
God bless you, Kerry!
Tina

The speech that you gave really impacted me. It has been making me see the people around me differently. Thank you for pouring out your heart at the summit and allowing us to listen to it. I have a heart for orphans and this will encourage me to pray even more fervently for Shaohannah's Hope as well as orphans all over the world.
Nancy B.

Kerry, I start to write this comment to you and I am so moved by your wonderful words about our Lord Jesus Christ that I find that
I am almost speechless. I broke down and cried all through your talk, and I am one that does not cry easily. Your message was so moving in regard to lost children in our world today, but there was so much thought and love spoken in regard to our relation-
ship to God through Jesus Christ. Now I am
truly wondering when I missed a message that
God was sending me and I just wasn't paying
any attention. I have truly heard God speak-
ing to me in my life before, but I'm concerned now after hearing your message, that I have missed many many talks with God
that were really monumental to my life. Thank you so much for a message that I have
maybe heard in some way before, but it has
never touched my heart the way that you did.
I feel really fortunate that I "just happen
to click on to your blog today." I know that
it was not just a coincidence. There are no
coincidences with God. Thank you again!

Hi Kerry,
Thank you again for every word that you type. I believe that every trial that you have been through has allowed you to pass on such wisdom to others. Particularly those of us who read your daily blog. I am a ministers wife and will be celebrating 15 wonderful years with my husband, my best friend, my soul mate. We adopted Steven's song, "The Great Adventure" when we first started dating because we both knew that God had called us to path great adventures and what adventures we have had. Sometimes I believe that the ministry falls prey to a lie from the enemy stating that it is not proper to grieve because by no means do we want others to see us weak. This lie seems almost too crazy to believe however I find myself realizing that after all of these years time after time I pushed my grief to the side so that I could help others. In doing this I find myself reading your blogs and wanting to run to the mountains and let the flood waters flow through my tears and grief. I have wondered how in the world the Lord could help me heal when I have never dealt with the grief that I have experienced over the past 15 years. Is it too late Lord, will people think that I am crazy grieving over something that happened so long ago? So I desire your prayers more than ever that the Lord will help me move forward to continue this great adventure, but I feel in my spirit that He will not allow me to go forward until I first go back! My spirit is overwhelmed with His presence! Thank you for sharing your heart so that my heart may be truly healed!

Mary Beth expressed well the feelings of someones loss and longing and yearning for them back intact.....willing to forego the good that may come of interviews and furthur testimony. Praise God that she knows His understanding her feelings and His love of her along with her feelings. She demonstrated to me the freedom and security we find in Christ to be His child every moment, feeling or unfeeling. All of Maria's family demonstrated to me, the love that sustains and upholds.

kerry, Your blog is so refreshing to read. I have always believed that the "least" are so important to God. I went to Bible College and 3 missions trips wanting to live life touching the least. Then I became ill and was eventually diagnosed with a rare blood disorder. It has placed limitations on me physically. For years, fear kept me tied in knots. I am very thankful that it is now in remission yet I am suppose to avoid immunizations and illnesses. I have felt a mess on how God could use me and fearful of exposure to things that could make me sicker. Your blog encourages me to seek God about what He would have me do. It is a nice reprieve from the condemnation I have put myself under. It gives me glimpses that He does care for me in the situation I am in and that I shouldn't run away from Him but I can seek Him about what to do.

Hi Kerry,
I am so glad that you found my blog post about the water slide just when you needed a sweet reminder. I too have very vivid dreams about what I think is heaven, and maybe God is trying to show me these things for a reason that I do not know yet. I have actually never shared any of my dreams with anyone! I guess I will know when He wants me to share!
Please know that I am praying for you and your husband. I hate that you have to go through such a painful time, sometimes the things that happen are just so hard for me to understand!!
I will be thinking about you!! Praying that your sweet little ones are playing on the water slides with friends. :)

This morning at church we were given your name and contact information by a friend of ours, Heidi Reitz,Sartell, Minnesota. She recently received an Angels in Adoption award. We are in the process of adopting our son, John Peter. He lives in an orphange in Haiti. Due to the recent earthquake we are extremely concerned about our son. Heidi immediately thought of you and said that you would be the people to contact and would know the best way to advocate for our son. We would love any input, connections, and advice for us. Thank you for your time, passion, and wisdom on this.

We were able to contact the orphange this morning. We were able to talk to our son. He said he was sleeping outside, very scared, and asked if we would please come and get him. I told him that we were doing everything that we could do to get him home. The building has sustained damage and is not suitable to be occupied. Fortunately, the children were able to make it out to safety, however they now have no shelter and are living/sleeping outside. Our good friends, The Orjansen family is adopting from the same orphanage as well. They were told that their son (who is 3) received some cuts from falling pieces of the building during the eathquake. We are so worried and concerned about Sebastian and any others that may have gotten hurt. They have no shelter, and food and water supplies are running out.

We have been in contact with our senators and representive, as well as the U.S. State Dept. and the JCICS. It is our belief that not only will our children be better cared for here but so will all the orphans of Haiti that have families waiting. We are asking for your help in whatever you can do to help bring the kids home. They are our kids and we will do anything that we can do to make sure that our children are safe and sound. We need them home. We are hoping that a Humanitarian Parole can be granted and we can finish up the adoption process in the US.

Feel free to contact us at anytime. Our contact information is as follows:

Hi Kerry,
I have been a faithful reader of your blog for some time now and I just love it and have been blessed a thousand times over from it..thank you so much for sharing your heart. I wasn't sure how to get this information to you so I hope it is okay that I post it here. The email is below:

Greetings in the wonderful name of Jesus,

Declaring the call to all faithful prayer warriors and givers in the family of God,

I am a dear friend to Jenny and Ryan Simmons from Addison Road a Christian band who have dedicated their lives to God by spreading hope through music. This past Friday they were leaving Arizona after their concert and their RV and trailer caught on fire and exploded on the side of the highway. Thank God no one was hurt but everything was destroyed. They are currently on a 30 city tour with Sanctus Real and are in desperate need of the church family to help get them an RV or a bus for this and future tours and any monetary gift to help replace all of the merchandise they lost for the tour. Before the tour began they lost their vehicle as well, it is the vehicle that they have used since bible college (9 years ago) and because of the high mileage it is no longer useable. They travel full time doing the work of the Lord and they desperately need our help. Please go to www.addisonroad.com to donate and see all of the details and please forward this email to all of the local churches or any Christian businesses that you may know that can help during this tragedy. Thank you so much for anything you can do. Please contact me at 480-262-6951 with any questions.

Kerry - I'm reading Mary Beth Chapman's book "Choosing to See" right now and thinking of the great work you and your husband are doing. May God continue to bless and strengthen you every step of the way as you love orphans in Jesus name! You are wonderful!

Change of Plans, airing Saturday, January 8th on FOX, is the latest
offering from Family Movie Night, presented by Walmart and P&G. This
great family film features a young couple who quickly learn that they
are adopting another couples children, due to an unfortunate event.
This heart-warming and funny movie reveals how fulfilling life can be
when you look beyond your own plans and invest in the lives of others.
Here is a link to the trailer: